EROSION !

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 9, 24 March 1947, Page 5

EROSION !

NEW ZEALAND’S DANGER SIGNAL

■ the LESSON OF ‘MOLESWORTH’

Throughout the district during recent weeks the P.W.D. under active sponsorship of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council, has been screening a series of excellent films in an attempt to educate the public to recognise the mounting danger of land erosion in the various ..areas where Catchment Boards have been or are in the process of being formed. In Whakatane last Friday two screenings were made, in the afternoon for the benefit of

school children and in the evening for the geenral public. The

• attendance at the latter was not

as good as it might have been. An introductory talk was given by the Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry.

The films depicted scenes from/ the Mississippi Valley in America where the soil erosion had given the nation a first class problem of a magnitude which drawfed all others. ' The whole story of the denudation of the hills was shown in detail, but the immediate interest of the audience was the New Zealand films illustrating what was taking place .in this country, and sounding the alarm for immediate action.

Soil, the nation’s most precious heritage, takes many years to build up, and there is a conception that it is a permanent natural resource • capable of indefini{e production. Even though commonly held, that concept is unfounded and dangerv ous.

Scarred Hills

Although the sight of denuded hills deeply scarred by the ravages of ersion is not familiar in this area it is well for all to know what has caused such disfigurement where it is ' found, something of its consequences, and those in a position to act upon the knowledge, how it can be restored, and prevented. At the same time it must be realised that erosion is not a thing that must be combatted primarily because it is a destroyer of beauty, but rather because it ultimately becomes a destroyer of life. And it is most to be feared because it works its ravages insidiously and surreptitiously.

To those who had not witnessed in actuality the rape of fertile country by erosion, what was shown in the films was nothing short of astounding and alarming. The staggering transformation of a property that once produced up to £30,000 a year into a barren and desolate wilderness was shown in a film recently made by the Public Works Department. Its title was the name of a vast estate in the upper part of the South Island, “Molesworth.”

Land Overworked

The original owner of Molesworth, in his desire to make ’as much use of the land as he possibly „ could gave no thought to the disastrous methods he was taking to pursue that end. When first put to production the land was healthy and fruitful. It was seen that wealth could 'be gained in direct proportion to the amount of land used and the numbers of stock run on the land. So in ignorance every acre was ruthlessly overworked. Herds and flocks were increased, and woodlands were cleared to make room for more.. ‘Each season the tussock was burned off to allow the more palatable grass to flourish. And in the end the land was exhausted to the .point of sterility. Stock could not be run on it, and grass gave way to scabweed.

Molesworth, because of its geographical position is subject to extremes in heat and cold, and is high sloping land. Topographically and by circumstance Molesworth was mow a natural prey to erosion. Estate Abandoned

The land was pulverised by the frosts, the vegetation once prolific 'was now impotent in holding the soil. Thus with heavy rain and when the snows melted the land was washed away. Farming became impossible, and the estate was abandoned to deer, wild goats and sheep. All that degeneration took place in only about half a century. Yet had the land been managed ■properly it need never have become 'the ugly waste that it did. The bleached stones in the gulleys might have remained covered by good grass land, the bare hillside could have been still heavily wooded, the areas of scab-weed covered ground could have been pasture yet. All the desolation of Molesworth was wrought by the futile and thoughtless use of the land. Remedial Measures

About 1938 the Government took over Molesworth and set about to endeavour to restore the state to health. An unrelenting and ruthTess war was waged on the wild life

that had over-run the land. Hundreds of deer and goats, and thousands of rabbits were killed. Rab-bit-proof fences were erected and the grass given another chance to grow. Trees were planted and care that should have been exercised many years ago was put into practice. But Molesworth is not the country now that it was, nor, probably, will it ever be. Some of the damage that was done by erosion was irreparable.

While it is difficult to forgive those who allowed the land to be treated as it was:, to some extent they must be permitted to plead ignorance. But with the of today no man can be guiltless when he allows the conditions to come about that will rob the country of land through erosion. “Man must eat or die,” Weston Martyn has said. “His food comes from tw T o sources only, the soil and the sea. If there were no soil, there would be no man.” The position is wholly as grave as that.